Killington closing day 5/11/04

You still have the time, Lftgly <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> <BR> <BR>It's about the same thing for me, for the West 70 at MSS. It's the first year for a while that I didn't ski it open in may. With all the fences and guards we've seen the other day, I wonder if I'll be able to ski it before it all melts !
 
A few observations: <BR> <BR>I was at Killington April 29, 1990. My observation is that with no overnight freezing and isothermic snow, groomed runs suck because the snow grabs your skis and you can't maintain speed or a consistent rhythm of turns. The only skiing that's enjoyable in those conditions is steep, skier-packed snow where gravity will overcome the greater friction of wet snow. In the East that means bumps by definition. And that snow, being softer, is more enjoyable for skiing moguls IMHO than packed powder moguls. And very few of us western skiers will approach hardpack/frozen moguls except under extreme duress or if there is no other way out. <BR> <BR>You can make the groomed runs enjoyable by salting, but I think that will take down the snowpack faster. That is no problem starting with a 10+ foot natural base at Bachelor and Mammoth but would make no sense in the East. <BR> <BR>The "boutique" skiers aren't at K in May anyway. So given the analysis of my first paragraph it really makes no sense to groom Superstar after late March. Maybe they could have squeezed out one more weekend by leaving it alone. Looking at it from a revenue standpoint they should think about closing midweek if it will get them another weekend. Snowbird only runs weekends in May (obviously a revenue, not snow issue). <BR> <BR>Despite a missing ACL and torn meniscus in one knee, neither knee is bothered by skiing spring moguls. I had 2 days straight of them at Stowe and MRG in March 2003 with no ill effects other than the tired quads from any energetic skiing, from which I usually recover with an easy day or two. I'm 51 but didn't start skiing seriously until age 26, so maybe I haven't reached Warren Miller's quota yet. <BR> <BR>I did have mildly sensitive knees for a few days after the last Colorado trip. I didn't ski that many bumps there, but the ones at Telluride had crunchy snow and were a lot of work. I had also done 9 days in a row, and 28 days between February 1 and March 29. I updated my lifetime ski history last weekend to include this season at <A HREF="http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm" TARGET="_top">http://bestsnow.net/vertfeet.htm</A>.
 
I have to say that I think tony is right about only opening on the weekends for K. It doesn't really make sense for them to have it open midweek, which would make the bleed money anyways. <BR> <BR>that being said, i have a really good idea why they are open midweek late in the season. <BR> <BR>Marketing <BR> <BR>by not closing midweek they can keep their claims of longest season and most days open blah blah blah.
 
Problem with that argument is that the very people who they are marketing to (us) are the only ones who care anyway; most people are thinking about golf at this point in the year. I think they keep it open midweek to satisfy the season passholders who are weekday skiers and that makes alot of sense. The excessive grooming is what killed it this season.
 
Here's an interesting article that appeared today. I saw a note about it on the New England Cable News crawl and found a more detailed rundown here on the Rutland paper's site. It's timely to our chat in that it may help to explain the atmosphere around the severely cut-back ASC ski season: <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://www.rutlandherald.com/04/Story/83698.html" TARGET="_top">http://www.rutlandherald.com/04/Story/83698.html</A> <BR> <BR> The article seems to focus on ASC's hope that the deal giving control of vast acreage at K base areas to an outside interest will get them back on track with their Kmart real-estate development plans, which have been blamed in some circles for their problems in the first place. I want to hope that the easing of their debt will get them back to a skiing focus and in the process regain their long-fought early/late season identity and the loyalties it fosters....but then again, a Texas based real estate investment company may not exactly have its finger on the pulse of New England skiing. We'll see. Remember, todays stoner snowboard kids enjoying an Oct or June day with their pals could be tommorrows condo owner! <BR> <BR> BTW two years ago today I was posting a message about skiing 6"+ of fresh on (and around) Superstar! Closing was June 1 and the pics from the period are a real 'read em and weep'. No I don't blame ASC for a lack of late season snowfall, but today's lack of the thick man-made cover as seen in some of those '02 pics is a different story.
 
interesting points made by all, except one of course... i don't if the anonymous dude from 5-12 is for real ( which if he is, he is an obvious idiot ) or just putting up stuff to stir up the pot ( which if he is, he is an obvious idiot ) . CD correctly points out that anonymous was shot down earlier in the year... he continues to make foolish statements though that exposes him for dope he is... <BR>quote " grooming brought out the more mainstream skier enabling them to make money on their last few days " uh, no it didn't... it brought out less bumpers, and the ones who were there were pissed off.. it brought out a few g.s 'ers who can't makes turns inside of 20 yards and skied supa till 1030am, then when it got to soft, they scampered away like racers do in midwinter when fresh powder show up, because, alas, " it's too tough to turn in " ...the amount of k locals who did not show up on grooming days and the 2 days after the grooming took place far outpaced the " mainstream" skiers ... anonymous, do your actually believe they make money anytime after may 1st?. if you do, you are a fool. they MIGHT make a little mony on the last sat in april and the first sat in may if the weather is killer... let's not waste time on this cartoon character any more... to the real posters. but first . <BR> K on Wed 5-12. i had thrown it in , pretty much the previous week.. i said my good bye's.. my buddy gil held out and the forecast for wed and thurs had me back in lincoln tuesday night, of course, ready for one final 2 dayer... beautiful drive over and pulled into the skyship turn off around 830... climing up the bear road , we knew it was gonna be an epic day in terms of weather... we were utterly stoked, for what seemed like the first time all spring , it appeared we had 2 bluebird days coming up for sure... we rounded the K gold club and me in the shot gun, caught out of the corner of my eye what appeared to be a S---load of grass on a trail. my heart skipped and i said uh ohh out loud...my man gil says, what's wrong, .. nuthin, i said... i just thought i saw supa with out any snow on it.. must have been old supa... this took about 6 seconds... then boom there it was... 5 distinct patches of snow on supa.... gil throws the car into park and yells , where the hell is that photo from firstracks that the guy put up on saturday?.. we pulled that out from under the seat and just sat there and stared... what can you say,...it just died... they ran out of snow... we were not mad , but sad and a little frustrated no doubt... mad would be silly as far as them being closed.. it would not have been worth it even if they were spinning... we drove over and talked to a couple of seemingly legit operations guys.. they said tuesday night was real bad for humidity and some fog actually rolled in.. and that was that...it's got to be a record early closing.. these guys speculated to that but that was not reliable it seemed.. they seemed like good guys on some stuff we asked and company men on other stuff... oh well. we were there with 2 other guys.. one from jersey and one from conn.. the conn guy hiked up to the top of the bottom h wall and skied down and bugged out.. jersey boy was building his own booter about half way up...we were comatosed, should we go up and jump with j boy...outta here said g man.. yo said me.. and that was that.. the king is dead.. long live the king: <BR>my 2 cents : <BR>CD's point on stockpiling trouble spots was one of our discussions on the 2 hours ride back... and cd hits it right on the head.. it's a no brainer.. and it's aggravating as hell and the fact that it isn't done, leads one to give more credence to the conspiracy theorists out there <BR>Skip over idiot's statement... <BR>JimG- yep that's right.. that why bumpers are the best skiers on the hill <BR>Skip to CD... we also discussed the theory of the groom degrading the snow faster this spring...we were there every week from april 18th on...the assesment certainly appears to have validity to it.. the question is was it done on purpose or not? <BR> skip to Boomer: i agree but it should be at least 2.. a blue and a black.. and they should build them.. super tight and take down every month...it would do wonders for people skiing them and getting more people to ski em... it remains a mystery why this not a standard practice... rivercoil never responded to my inquiry to him as to why it is ok to spend money and resources on race courses, and parks and pipes and grooming trails flat, but not on maintaining mogul lines... i'd like to hear the response.. i saw what went on at loon this year ... it's remarkable what happens when they are built in terms of how many more people jump in and give em a try.. See below for more on loon.. it's very good.. very good <BR>skip to johny D: proper mogul skiing does not hurt your knees... there is, when skied correctly , limited impact on the knees as the purchase involves pulling up and under as contact is made on front side , as opposed to being slammed up by force of the bump.. in order to do this , though, your must be loaded to the hilt on your toes, which goes against the current psia method of being centered and " letting the shape do the work " is it easy, no,,, it's the hardest thing to learn how to do... but i can be done if you have the right knowledge of what you are trying to do and are dedicated enough,and have real terrain to learn on... not some junk like paulies folly or lower flume at loon or some other steep trail with moguls that are formed by terminal intermediates who are just side slipping down a pitch thats over their heads..johny, i'd advise you to check out smartmogul.com and get the 25 dollar video by john smart if you have any desire to learn how to ski bumps the right way and pain free <BR>skip to Patrick: dito <BR>skip to the NHpowderhound: u the man... but how can we get bretton to put in a strip of bump on one of their runs.... what a great learning bump hill that would be.. it's not like they can'tgive up the terrain either <BR> skip to Tony c: disagree about the weekends, but not strongly... we saw what went on there this past spring on all days... there is more traffic on the weekends , but they still don't make money on those days...they need to market spring skiing better than they do.. it seems like they are trying to play both sides of the fence.. they offer cheap spring passes but implement policies that appear to shorten the season... maybe that's just what they want.. i'm still tying to figure it out...5 different k employees told us , at diffent points in the last month, that k was the only asc resort that made money for the last 3 years... i find that hard to believe, but if it's true, maybe they should shut down mid week - mid winter... the problem is marketing and focus... the absurdity and stupidity of the general public to be skiing k in january in minus 35 f weather ( i was there ) and having all their lifts spinning, and to not even consider skiing after april 15th in weather that is almost a 100 degree swing is mind blowing... <BR>skip to johny: they don't not close mid week for the boast... boasting doesnt pay the bills.. they know they lose money, but they make a ton during other special periods <BR>skip to JimG: bingo, but the weather did not help em out and they did not make as much snow either.. this trifecta was the whole killer <BR>skip to CD: that info was given to us also by a k employee who appeared to be the most legit of all we spoke with.. we shall see <BR>Loon update: this came out of nowhere, but it's on the level <BR>1) the south mountian is going ahead but it is not going to open this year.. 2 to 3 year project till it is up and running.. the old mill is coming down and being made into a 7 story luxury hotel... a gondola from the hotel to the base of south mountian is going in <BR> now the good stuff: <BR>the north peak triple is being replaced with a high speed quad.. the double is coming out and the triple is being moved over to the old double.. top of north peak is being laid out.. one trail off the back side of north peak swinging around to hool up with sunset is going in... 1 trail to skiers right off of walking boss is going in... our sources tell us this will be ready for this season... they are also , apparently , going to limit the time they allocate to high school and college race teams like the idiots from new hampton... and every lift is slotted to have an easily accessable bump run, with real bumps ( fake, man made, pussy bumps, what ever any negative nabobs want to call em, i'll just call em the same type of bumps that the us team skis, they are going in, and it's gonna be killer ) kudos to the management at loon for smartly recognizing the need...maybe some of these other areas will get their heads out of their butts too. <BR>personal notes: totaled out at 59 days loon, k, jay, cat, bretton, mrg, sunday river and a half day at cannon ( left in disgust ) felt bad about not getting to burke, but the lines seemed to bite it when ever the chance came to go ... 2 months off and leaving on the jet plane on july 5th for 19 glorious days of blackcomb bumps, it's gonna be epic <BR>peace, and have a cool fast summer <BR> marc, any chance of using some of your contacts at k like kim jackson to try and get some answers to the questions posed in this thread?
 
Ishhh, sad for you that you drove up there to see the trail closed for the season. I guess many persons did the same thing, last week. <BR> <BR>Anyway, it's not so bad for you considering you know you're going to be on the mogul fields of blackcomb within 2 months ! <BR> <BR>Here, we already skied after K's closure, but june seems to be almost impossible. Even Tuckerman Ravine, I actually wonder if there will be something remaining on june 1, except a tiny patch below the Lip, considering this pic of today : <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3948.jpg" ALT="Tucks OUCH - may 15, 2004"> <BR> <BR>I guess I will have more chances at the Valinouet, at Mt Édouard or in a olympic size halfpipe like the one of Stoneham (which still has some 20-25' high walls of 8' wide) <BR> <BR>We're a gang to head to La Réserve tomorrow to ski the remaining patches (probably mostly the LG canyon). This one is not going to be skiable in june for sure, unfortunately...
 
Hi Frank and & crew. Yes, this spring and winter have been probably the more depressing because of the lack of snow than any in the past few years. I am trying to plan my yearly trip up to Tucks in the next few weeks but it looks like its gonna be a hell of a suffer trip (lets say that there is much less snow now than when I skied tux my first time on June 19, 2001), but its totally worth it for me, because only the truly hardcore can ski in late may/june in the east. Would anyone be interested in joining me/meeting me there? I’m open to any ideas or suggestions as to other possible existing snowpatches in the Mt Washington area that might still be worth skiing. Also, this is to Frank or anyone in the area/crazy enough to go out there: Frank, would you be interested in doing the Chic Chocs this spring? Do you know of any places near you (where you have been skiing in the past couple of weeks) that will still be skiable with decent lines in the next few weeks? I am down in Connecticut, so obviously I am willing to drive. Please let me know because I would love to go and need to plan accordingly. <BR> <BR>~Les <BR>**|\|3\/3R 5U|\/| |\/|3R** <BR> <BR>p.s. we should start a new thred bc its getting off the K topic
 
Midweek May operation will be patronized nearly all by passholders. Weekends draw dedicated skiers from the cities and thus extra revenue, not to mention the hotel and apres-ski money they spend. <BR> <BR>I think Dave McCoy and Intrawest understand this, observing how many of us SoCal skiers show up at Mammoth for Memorial weekend every year. And the Vancouver skiers must feel the same way, since Intrawest EXTENDED Whistler's closing date to first weekend of June after they took control of it starting in 1998-99. <BR> <BR>Killington does have a 20-year reputation for late season and is within weekend distance of NY and Boston metro areas. So looking at both revenue and marketing publicity, ASC should do all the things suggested above: stockpile snow, particularly on the section with chronic vulnerability, not groom once you get into the no-overnight-freeze spring weather. Closing midweek or maybe Tuesday to Thursday will slow the degrading of weekend skiing, likely resulting in more revenue as positive feedback (as from here) spreads through the diehard skier ranks.
 
Hi Les, <BR> <BR>Here, it's all gone. I skied today the LG canyon at la Réserve (that I skied up to june 1 last year), but it's almost over, there... (as they blew quite less snow this year than last year) <BR> <BR>Here is how it looked (we were 9 zoneskiers on the patch today !!!) <BR> <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3949.jpg" ALT="hiking the LG canyon"> <BR> <BR>There was still about 1000' long skiable in the canyon + a couple of patches skiable lower... and a lot of grass skiable for us <IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":)"> <BR> <BR>We consider to head on the Valinouet, the coming weekend. It should be quite nice there, normally. The glades are probably still skiable without a lot of bare spots (I'm not joking at all). <BR> <BR>For the Chic-Chocs, it's 2x farther than the Valinouet which is just at 5 hours drive from Montreal. (Chic-Chocs are at 9h or so)
 
Before I write my report here, you can check our report on Zoneski. Quite nice pics with few crazy videos... including grass skiing and a funny jump (spread) with a starting and landing on grass... and the jump was actually some grass too. <BR> <BR>Truly a nice day in the north ! <BR> <BR><A HREF="http://zoneski.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1267" TARGET="_top">http://zoneski.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1267</A>
 
i have to disagree with tony c about closing mid week and throwing the mid week skier under the bus. but part of my disagreement is obviously biased and self serving ...some of it is principled.... although obviously smaller compared to the number who have weekends off, what about the people like myself who work the weekends and have off tuesday, weds and thurs on a regular basis?...should the small number of people in this position set the policy? obviously not. but to dismiss them out of hand is wrong also...if the problem is revenue justification for world class places like K, because of the high number of season pass holders, i would look at the idea of midweek season pass revenues, or more specifically, boosting them. i have no problem with mom and pop ski places on a smaller scale shutting it down midweek, but not a place like k or loon. mid week cheap season passes ( ie under #300 ) should not exist for a place like killington if they want to offer late season skiing...i killed killington this year... i paid 300 for my pass in august and and averaged 7 bucks a day to ski there ...i would say that most of the mid week season pass holders probably killed em at close to the same margin... instead of shutting out the mid wekk skiers, why not have em just pay what would be a little bit closer to what they should be paying to ski a whole day at a world class resort. i , and i would assume most mid week passholders who are in the position of being able to ski midweek on a regular basis, would pay double the 300 ( which this year would make my daily ticket cost 14 bucks, still way too low, IMO ) to get the pass and a firm intention that we would have lift access through may... a comparison.. u decide wether it applies, to any degree here... season tickets to a major league sporting teams ie : football, baseball , hockey hoops ...season ticket holders do not receive anywhere near, if any at all, the discount that is offered to midweek skiers who hold season passes... i also disagree with some of the outrage that is expressed about late season daily ticket rates.... if we want the resorts to operate when less people are paying customers, how can one expect to pay SUBSTANTIALLY less...yeah sure, you can argue you have less choices for runs and lifts and all that... but if that bothers you, don't go.. anyone who skis late season, and for sure those who ski really late or early, ie nov or may, i would think, are there because it's all about the ability to make turns and less about variety... i also disagree with all the clamoring about high ticket prices for daily tickets in general... i am noat rich and do not have a family... i factor that in to this, believe me... but i also know that with work and effort, total skiing costs can be reduced for individuals and families...one things my buddy and i talk about often is that when we finally do have families, one thing we intend to do, ( marrying a woman who is a passionate skier is assumed here :-) ) is not bring the family skiing on christmas week and feb vacation weeks and individual holidays, but assuming the kids are into it, pull them out of school for other weeks and individual days and have them do their school work on the regularly scheduled vaca weeks and then go ski on " off weeks and other days " that are a lot cheaper. this takes work, but it can be done.. also, lots of yelling about paying 50 to 60 bucks for a whole 8 hour day of skiing, but no yelling about 75 bucks for a round of golf with a cart?... or 80 to 100 for a 3 hour sporting event... hmmmm... but i also firmly believe that places like K do a pathetic job at marketing themselves for anything outside of the dec 15 to march 15th period.. you get what you pay for is the way i see it, on all fronts
 
Is it just me, or does that guy in Frank's picture from la Réserve have his pack's suspension system <I>really</I> screwed up??
 
CD, here is a photo from my archives to compare to May 11, 2004. <BR> <BR>This photo was taken May 12, 2000: <BR><IMG SRC="http://www.firsttracksonline.com/discus2/messages/8/3950.jpg" ALT="05120002Killington">
 
Both Mammoth or Whistler run full-time until they close. As do Bachelor/A-Basin/Sunshine. Of the prominent western late season areas, only Snowbird closes midweek. <BR> <BR>My primary reason for suggesting it at Killington was to slow snow degradation. Snow deterioration is gradual as long as there is a thick base where the core of it remains below freezing. This is another argument for accumulating the 15-20 feet on Superstar in winter. <BR> <BR>Once the snow becomes isothermic the ensuing collapse tends to be swift. This was explained to me by the late Jack Mason at Winter Park when it unexpectedly happened in Colorado in late March of the poor 2002 season. This spring was equally warm there, but the base was deeper and most ski terrain held up adequately to scheduled closing dates, though A-Basin's Palivaccini terrain has been closed since late April. <BR> <BR>The isothermic snow does not stand up to skier traffic well. That's probably why the Big Bear areas close on rainy days; they don't want their painstakingly created manmade base torn up. <BR> <BR>I would only advocate midweek closing at Killington <I>if it will allow them to extend the number of weekends they can stay open.</I> <BR> <BR>Someone should send the URL of this thread to Kim Jackson (or someone else in Killington marketing) for comment, as I think was suggested. I've had some contact with them collecting snow data (from Kevin Leech just last week for 2003-04), but Marc or one of you other eastern skiers would make more sense.
 
Marc, I don't really understand what you mean. A sure thing, the skipack of Eric is weirdly put on the pic as he was putting it while I took the pic. <BR> <BR>About Killington midweek, I think at least they should close when it's rainy... May be they also should close 1-2 days in the week to concentrate the skiers on the other 3-4 days and preserve the snow longer. <BR> <BR>Just my 0,02$.
 
<BLOCKQUOTE><HR SIZE=0><!-Quote-!><FONT SIZE=1><B>Quote:</B></FONT><P>Marc, I don't really understand what you mean. A sure thing, the skipack of Eric is weirdly put on the pic as he was putting it while I took the pic.<!-/Quote-!><HR SIZE=0></BLOCKQUOTE> <BR>Aah, that explains it. It just looked horrendously skewed to me. Now that I know he was donning his pack when the photo was taken, it all makes sense. <BR> <BR>It just looked weird.
 
i have to believe that the unprecedented amount of times that SS was groomed in the past 30 days contributed more to the degradation of the snow than did skier traffic... it was stunning to my buddy and i , as the season worn on, how much grooming was taking place at killington, all over the place, even on the bear side...2 season ago , we were about to give up our outrageous deal on winter ski property at loon to make the jump to killington for about 4 times as much money, because we thought the killington had more respect for freestyle and bumps...boy were we wrong... the funny thing is , even up until last week when we where there, K was proudly selling a poster in the K base lodge of a picture of the outer limits with tighly spaced man made bumps from TOP TO BOTTOM. not just half of it, but top to bottom...we didn't see anything like that at all this year on o.l., pre, mid winter and late season... just the usual crapolla, paulies folly type bumps that are spaced 12 feet apart with rock hard hardpack in the troughs that result from a steep steep black going ungroomed.... i stand corrected... they did make em for the bear mountain mogul challenge... and promptly closed bear 2 weeks later...but i'm sure k had their race trails in tip top shape all year , no doubt...if people only knew what a difference making super tight bumps on a trail and taking them down and putting them back up 3 or 4 times a season would make... so many more people would ski them...very disappointing and i too would like to hear from someone in K's management as to what is and was going on over there this year... in terms of midwinter needless to say, we are staying at loon, cause if things shape up the way we are being told they may, loon could be the new freestyle capital east of i 93, and maybe west too. on the list of culprits, i would also put the relatively warm wet spring ahead of skier traffi ( tony i was there every week, and truth be told, there was barely any traffic at all,l but thats a different problem ) and the lack of snow made throughout the season....all that said there is validity to tony's suggestion.. i just think other things and factors have much more influence on the problem at hand of snow degradation... the, what seemed like twice weekly, chewing up and flattening of the snow surface and flooding it with oxygen for the last 4 weeks seems a much more likely cause of the earliest closing in decades... when we were there on wed , 90% of the only snow that was left was snow that had not been groomed and had moguls on it... coincidence?
 
The key is to preserve the core snowpack that remains subfreezing. <BR> <BR>#1 reason for its disappearance is that blowing less snow all season either prevented the core's formation or decreased its size so that it disappeared much earlier. <BR> <BR>#2 reason would be aerating it with grooming as joegm says. This would be especially deadly if they tried to groom when air temps were above freezing. Thus my earlier comment that even if Superstar is groomed midwinter, they need to stop when the warm weather arrives. <BR> <BR>Skier traffic would be a distant #3 to the above 2 reasons. But low skier traffic can have a surprisingly positive effect on surface conditions, as I observed in my Feb. 7 post from Lake Louise. Taos, which has serious early season coverage issues with its steep, rocky terrain and very low water content snow, opens several expert runs on a rotating basis for a couple of hours at a time.
 
back in january, when we were at k for 3 straight weeks in conditions that , when i look back on it, could only be described as borderline insane, we assumed a rock solid base was forming becasue of the unreal cold that was present for much of january, even with the lack of natural falling...it was at least minus 20 and usually lower on 5 out of the 7 days we skied k in jan, DURING THE DAYTIME!!!!!. i will give them that the winds , i believe, were probably above average during this period, and definitely resulted in easily wind blown dried out chalk, coming out of the guns often. but looking back on it , observations during early march clearly showed a base on the SS as being paltry when compared to previous years... asking Killington employees for an assessment , as we frequently did, got partisan answers ( " oh no, they are defintely making as much snow... they are just concentrating on snowshed, or bear or wherever right now " )hmmmmm... that's why it would be nice to get some legit answers from K's management as to what went on and what is planned for the future. taos terrain management is interesting.. i had no idea they did that.. how late does taos try and go? are they a late season player to any extent?
 
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